


Atarashī Hane

by SnowbelleKitten



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Character is Neurodivergent, Explicit Language, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama is a great brother, Multi, My First Fanfic, POV Alternating, Protective Kageyama Tobio, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Way too much volleyball, You're oblivious as shit, headcanons, oc is op, reader is a character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:56:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27496810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowbelleKitten/pseuds/SnowbelleKitten
Summary: High school was supposed to be the turning of a page. Fresh ventures, new friends.She didn't expect herself to land up as part of the boy's volleyball team. She just wanted to have some fun.Now she's stuck in a bickering, messy murder of crows. And she wouldn't change it for the world.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Original Female Character(s), Akaashi Keiji/Reader, Bokuto Koutarou/Original Female Character(s), Bokuto Koutarou/Reader, Iwaizumi Hajime/Original Female Character(s), Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader, Kozume Kenma/Original Female Character(s), Kozume Kenma/Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s), Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader, Oikawa Tooru/Original Female Character(s), Oikawa Tooru/Reader, Sakusa Kiyoomi/Original Female Character(s), Sakusa Kiyoomi/Reader, Tsukishima Kei/Original Female Character(s), Tsukishima Kei/Reader
Comments: 45
Kudos: 204





	1. Enter the Black Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me start this off with a couple of heads-up!
> 
>   1. This is my first ever published fan fiction work, so there may be issues, especially since the formatting on AO3 confuses me to no end.
>   2. I will most likely bend some of the official volleyball rules such as substitution limits, contact plays, etc. This generally isn’t intentional, and I try my best to avoid it. However, I am human, and like many people in this fandom, Haikyuu was the first ever time I had any sort of contact with volleyball, so I am by no means an expert. Don’t come for my wig.
>   3. Speaking of wigs, although Haikyuu is officially set around 2012, I will probably slip into using more modern lingo or refer to technology that wasn’t technically available then. Again, unintentional for the most part, but honestly it’s kind of funnier anyways.
>   4. There will also be intentional changes, however, such as minor alterations to dates, events and/or laws. Also some of my favourite headcanons will pop up.
>   5. Perspective is in second and third person. Sorry if it gets confusing sometimes, I’m trying to make it as seamless as possible to change between characters, but it is challenging.
>   6. The main character here is both the reader and an OC. So basically, they have a gender, name, background and appearance that is already set, and you, as the reader, are simply stepping into their shoes and their lives as a main character. This is a personal preference of mine since I can’t really get into fics with the Y/N thing happening, and if having an established character isn’t your cup of tea, then please don’t complain if you decide to read it.
>   7. This is a multi-character/OC sort of fic, because yeah… them boys be hot.
>   8. If I refer to anything that might be Japanese culture-centric, I’ll try to add footnotes or something if you are unfamiliar to give some context.
>   9. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SMUT AND/OR KINKY SHIT. GET OVER IT, IT’S FICTION.
>   10. As far as I can tell, the exact city/town where Karasuno is hasn’t been disclosed. I’ve decided that I will use [Rifu, Miyagi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifu) as my point of reference for roughly where our main characters live. 
> 

> 
> And finally, this entire work is simply for fun, I own nothing of Haikyuu, obviously. Again, don’t come for my wig.
> 
> Also, just as a side note, I will probably be making art of this fic every now and then, and I’ll link it within the fic whenever I do, should you want to see it.

Your eyes flickered across the school grounds, taking in the picturesque scene before you. It was one of many in the mountainous region of Miyagi. The breeze was aromatic with the sweet scent of cherry blossoms, the ground littered with fallen pink and white petals amongst the deep green of the lush grass. Karasuno High wasn’t exactly fancy, but they took great care of their appearances.

You leaned your head back slightly, your skull meeting the sun-warmed brick of the second gymnasium, and waited. Behind the doors to your right you could hear the squeaking of trainers on polished wood and the muffled shouts of the boy’s team as they got ready for practice.

You sniffed and checked your watch. Asano-sensei, your coach, had spoken to you after the morning practice, just before you went to change into your school uniform.

_“Meet me at the second gym after school, before practice. I want to show you something.”_

You had nodded and didn’t give it much thought as she went to chat with the team captain, but now, standing around by yourself outside one of the boy’s clubs in your school tracksuit, you felt unsure.

_Surely this must seem creepy? Definitely. It will look like you're waiting to confess to one of the players. But is that even a real thing? Maybe being in high school makes people bolder. Or just more hormonal. Who knew? You didn’t._

“Ah, there you are! Thanks for meeting me!”

You were jolted out of your thoughts by the cheerful voice of your coach approaching, her short brunette bob bouncing as she waved and walked from the main school building. She wore a light blue track set, the metal whistle hanging over her jacket and jingling softly as she moved.

“It’s no problem, sensei,” you replied, shifting your backpack and straightening up from your slouch against the wall, “What did you need? Is practice cancelled?”

You really hoped not. Honestly, of all the stressful things you had to deal with when you entered high school, you were actually excited about joining a real club. Although to be quite frank, you were a bit let down by how lackluster the girl’s volleyball team had been.

Asano-sensei grinned, “Ah no, not quite. I actually just came from Gymnasium One, had to get the girls started on their warm-ups.”

You shifted on your feet. Why on Earth would Coach pull you out of club practice? Had you done something wrong?

“Follow me,” Asano-sensei chuckled upon taking in your expression.

You briefly wondered what your face looked like when in some mixture of miffed and anxious.

She didn’t even bother explaining further, just pressed her hands against the doors of the gymnasium and slid them open, the voices growing louder without the barrier.

Ah, they were practicing spikes by the sounds of it. Victorious cries and exasperated groans along with the slamming of pleather on the floor.

You peeked over Asano-senpai’s shoulder from your spot around the corner and nearly had an aneurysm.

“HAHHH how do you like me _now_ Tsukishima?!”

Gracing your poor eyes was the sight of a dozen boys on the court watching as one guy with a buzzcut swung his jersey around above him, his other hand pointing violently at a tall blond on the opposite side of the net. Most of them looked exasperated at least.

Seemed like this was a common occurrence.

“Ahem.”

All dozen plus pairs of eyes zeroed in on Asano-sensei as she faked a cough into her fist, then you. Then to the shirtless dude as they followed your line of sight.

“TANAKA! Put your damn shirt back on!” Multiple boys cried out, some of their faces turning pink. You pyramided your hands over your brow and looked to the ever so interesting white lines of the court, eyes wide and your mind absolutely boggled.

_Ah yes. Very distracting. What lovely wooden surfacing. Fascinating scuff marks. Uh-huh._

“Ah! Sorry about him!”

You glanced up to see that one of the older boys had drawn closer and was bowing in your direction, his short brown hair sticking slightly to the beads of sweat dotting his forehead.

“Asano-sensei! What brings you here?”

Another man trotted over, eyes bright and friendly behind his rectangular glasses, a lime jacket hanging loosely off his shoulders. You felt that you recognised him. Definitely another teacher, although his name escaped you.

“Takeda-sensei! Pardon the intrusion,” Asano-sensei greeted back casually, apparently far more accustomed to the antics of teenage boys than you, “Do you and your team have a moment?”

“Of course!” he answered. The boy before you straightened and clapped his hands.

“Gather up!” he hollered, deep and authoritative. His teammates all strode over, forming a wide semi-circle around him.

Captain, no doubt about it.

Asano-sensei moved deeper into the hall and stood before the team. She glanced at you over her shoulder, a grin upon her lips.

“Are you coming in or are you just going to hide at the door?”

You lowered your eyes as the laser focus of all those boys shot back to you and took a step into the room, toeing off your outside shoes and quickly slipping on your trainers. You slid the door shut behind you, effectively trapping you in the gym.

As you ambled closer you could see that every single one of them scanned you, eyes widening.

“Excuse the intrusion,” you added, giving the group a cordial nod.

All but one gaped at you. However, a very excited ginger pointed right at you, brown eyes massive. He would have probably touched your nose if not for your quick reflexive step backwards.

“Holy cow, you could be Kageyama’s twin!”

You just blinked as Tobio smacked the smaller boy’s head.

“That’s because she _is_ my twin, dumbass.”

“EHHHH?!”

The chorus of voices caused you to flinch away slightly. Even Asano-sensei looked shocked as Tobio moved closer.

“Kageyama, you have a sister?!”

“Kageyama-san, you have a brother?”

You shared a long, exasperated look with your brother as he stood beside you.

“Yes,” you both answered in unison. You could feel your brother’s pinky finger wrap around yours, and you inclined your ear towards him.

“What’s this all about?” he muttered, a fine eyebrow arching up into his fringe.

You shrugged, “No clue.”

“Oh I see, so this is the girl you were talking about, Asano-sensei?” the male teacher asked with a gasp, his hands coming to rest on his hips, “You’re taller than I expected. I suppose that’s a given though, considering how tall Kageyama-kun is.”

And it was a fair assessment. You stood far taller than the average Japanese woman, and actually taller than a good portion of the boys. You blinked and scratched your cheek, peering at the group.

Asano-sensei just patted your shoulder and grinned, “Yep! This is her. Go ahead and introduce yourself now.”

You stiffened and wrinkled your nose at the other woman. You didn’t exactly appreciate being jerked about.

Tsukishima cocked his head, waiting for the girl to speak. Yamaguchi knocked his elbow softly and leaned over.

“This is so _weird_ ,” he whispered.

Kei grunted in affirmation, just as the girl opened her mouth. She had stuffed her hands into her tracksuit pockets and looked a little peeved.

He couldn’t believe there were _two_ Kageyamas now. It was... unnerving.

“Kageyama Tomiyo, first year class two,” you stated, eyeing them all suspiciously.

Tsukishima frowned at you. You apparently had a similar disposition to your brother and you were indeed unusually tall, although still dwarfed by his own height. Slender, almost waifish, your hair tied into a pair of inky high pigtails, with a pair of dark eyes.

A near carbon-copy of the idiot King, Kageyama Tobio.

“Sensei,” you grumbled, “… what is this about exactly?”

You internally cringed as your coach sent you a devilish smirk.

“As of today, you’ll be joining the boy’s team.”

“HAH??????”

You would have winced at the collective yell of confusion, but your brain had effectively bluescreened.

“W-what?” you eventually managed to stutter out, “Why?”

Asano-sensei propped her hands on her hips and gave you a soft look.

“Kageyama-san,” she started, and you felt a sweat start on your palms, “I know that you’re not happy playing on the girl’s team.”

_Oh._

You winced, “No really. I’m fine.”

Asano-sensei frowned, “Kageyama. Listen.”

_Oh._

The brunette woman huffed, “You’re a damn good player. Probably the best I’ve ever had come through my team. Possibly even this school.”

Then she crossed her arms and scowled, going into full coach mode.

_Oh fuck._

Even looking down at your sneakers, you could hear the boys team straighten up, Tobio sidling closer. Asano-sensei was a scary lady when she wanted to be.

“You have so much potential. And you can take it far. Here. In _this_ team.”

You gaped at her, completely thrown for a loop. Tobio stiffened beside you, a sharp inhale registering in your ear.

“Now go put your bags down and get ready,” she turned slightly on her heel, effectively giving everyone in the room simultaneous whiplash, and addressed Takeda, “I believe you managed to organise a practice match already?”

She didn’t pay you much mind as you numbly turned to your twin. He met your stare, just as wide-eyed, but shrugged. You swore you saw the corners of his mouth twitch and a glint of anticipation in his navy blue eyes.

He gently curled his hand in yours and led you to the side of the court, placing your stuff down against the wall. You shook yourself slightly out of your stupor and started removing your outer layers, a thin thrill of electricity running through your veins.

Hinata Shōyō blinked, eyes following the girl as she pulled off her jacket, her mind obviously elsewhere. She kept sharing rapidfire glances and small gestures with Kageyama, who stood closeby.

The dark-haired setter was tense. Eager, if the tiny smile on his face was any indication.

“So Asano-sensei,” Daichi started, bringing the boy’s focus back to the teacher, “Why exactly isn’t she liking the girl’s team, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The short lady sighed and scratched her cheek, “It’s a few factors, I think.”

Her gaze drifted up to the ceiling, index finger tapping her chin.

“She’s a natural at volleyball, it’s actually a little freaky if I’m being honest,” she chortled, “Kageyama has this weird way of being able to completely change up her playstyle in a split second, and she’s got bottomless stamina to boot. None of my girls can keep up.”

She frowned, eyes downcast, “She comes to every practice and she’s been great, but she’s getting kind of bored without a challenge. And I think she’s been considering leaving because of that.”

Takeda hummed, “So the boy’s team was the next step.”

“Exactly,” Asano agreed, then grinned at the team, “Plus I heard you guys are shooting for Nationals this year.”

“Yes ma’am,” Daichi nodded.

“Good, I reckon she can help get you there. She’s a walking arsenal.”

The team shared dubious looks as Asano-sensei made small talk with Shimizu. Tsukishima’s ear pricked as Tanaka muttered beneath his breath.

“Holy _shit_.”

It was a whisper, probably not meant for the others to hear, but Kei followed the older boy’s line of sight and couldn’t help a small double take.

Kageyama Tomiyo was retying her hair up into a high ponytail, fine hands deftly moving through the practiced motions. But what really seemed to catch everyone’s attention was the fact that the girl was _built_.

She had defined arms, biceps curving as she moved her hands through her locks, and beneath the black racerback tank she wore, there was also shifting in the lean muscles of her spine and shoulders.

But the main reason Tanaka seemed to be having a heart attack was because she had removed her tracksuit pants to reveal a black pair of tight volleyball shorts, barely three inches down her _very_ impressive legs.

Asano-sensei’s words were starting to make a bit more sense.

Sugawara gave Tanaka a subtle smack upside the head.

“Be respectful. I’m sure she’s overwhelmed enough as is,” he chided.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Kageyama! You good to go?” Asano-sensei hollered, making the boys jump out of their stupor.

Both of the twins looked up at the name, and the teacher chuckled.

“That’s going to be an issue,” she chortled.

The pair strolled back over, your eyes fluttering around the gym. Tsukishima arched a brow as you sidled beside the coach and met the boys’ gaze evenly, a steely sort of determination in your irises. Asano looked somewhat amused by the behaviour but didn’t comment. She clapped her hands together.

“Alright! I think Takeda-sensei has all the details down pat, so I’m going to love and leave you. I’ve got to check on the girls.”

The girl looked like she’d been slapped and gaped as the other woman strutted away to the doors.

“You’re just leaving me here?!” you griped, disbelief evident in your tone.

Asano just smiled as she slid the door open, “You’ll be fine Kageyama. I’m pretty sure they don’t bite. Plus, bonus, you’ve got your brother here!”

With that, she then disappeared with a final slam. You grimaced.

Takeda-sensei just laughed and gently patted your shoulder, “It’s alright, I promise. Now! Introductions perhaps?”

The captain approached first, extending a hand with a warm smile, “Sawamura Daichi, I’m Captain. Good to meet you.”

You gripped his hand and gave it a brisk shake. You knew a lot of them just listening to your brother grumble about practices in the evenings, but it was nice to put faces to names. Up close, the third year was probably the same height as you. He seemed pleasant enough.

From there you were presented with the rest of the club. It was surprisingly small, with two third years, four second years and four other first years.

Of them there was Tobio and three other guys, including the small ginger. The one with freckles gave a small wave of his hand.

“Yamaguchi Tadashi, class four. It’s nice to meet you.”

The tall blonde beside him nodded at you, “Tsukishima Kei. Class four.”

 _Oh but I already know_ **_all_ ** _about you._

You frowned, giving the boy a scan. Tobio had been absolutely fuming about this particular team member over the past week, and was particularly smug on Saturday after relaying his victory over the guy to you.

He crossed his arms and gave you a returning look of appraisal.

“So _His Majesty_ has a twin, huh?”

The disdain dripping from his voice made your skin crawl.

You grit your teeth and hissed, “ _Don’t_ call him that.”

He paused, self-satisfied smirk frozen on his face for a moment, apparently taken aback by your quick flip in mood. The room immediately grew tense.

Before he could respond, you moved onto the first boy you saw, with the flaming orange curls.

“You must be Hinata then?” you asked quietly, watching as his eyes widened and he nodded excitedly.

“It’s nice to meet you! I had no idea Kageyama had a sibling. He really doesn’t act like it!”

The boy was… _a lot_.

You blinked, “Uh, likewise. I heard about your three-on-three match on Saturday. Thanks for spiking for him.”

The returning smile was blinding.

_“He’s like a little kid with too much sugar in his system.”_

Tobio was right.

Sawamura interjected as Hinata opened his mouth again.

“Well let’s go through our warm up stretches again and we can talk. We jumped right into spiking drills but let’s get some more information so we can see where you’ll fit in then, Kageyama-...san?”

He stumbled a bit when getting to the honorific. Asano-sensei had a point about that being an issue.

“Sure,” you shrugged, then gave the team a collective glance, “And just call me Tomiyo, it’s a lot easier in the long run.”

You ignored how some of the boys flushed and just followed Tobio as they spread out into a circle, giving your brother an uncertain look.

“You’ll be fine,” he chuffed, pulling his arm across his body to his opposite shoulder. You copied the motion, feeling the light burn through your tricep and loosening in your shoulder.

From there it was a pretty standard stretching routine with the team, although you were far more limber. When you all sat down and started working on your hamstrings, you heard a low, impressed whistle.

“You’re really flexible, Tomiyo-chan,” Sugawara commented from his spot across from you.

“I suppose.”

You sat deeper into the stretch, placing your palms flat on the soles of your shoes.

“So Tomiyo-san, how long have you been playing volleyball?” Sawamura asked, offering a strained grin as he gripped the very edges of his shoes from his position beside Sugawara. You glanced at Tobio, and he just shrugged.

“As long as I can remember. We’ve always been playing together,” you answered.

The buzz-cut guy that had been swinging his shirt about earlier, Tanaka, chimed in.

“Where did your team place in the Inter-Middle tournament? I’ll admit, I’ve never heard all that much about how good Kitagawa Daiichi’s girl team was.”

You shook your head, and shifted even further forward until your hamstrings started to actually feel it, “I wasn’t part of the volleyball club in junior high. I just started again this year.”

“What did you do then?”

You sniffed, “Gymnastics.”

Hinata piped up, “Cool! So you can do all kinds of tricks and stuff?”

“Uh, sure.”

“And your skills aren’t rusty?” Sawamura asked, widening his legs and reaching for his toes again. Everyone mimicked the movement. You went into a full split, resting your forearms on the wooden flooring and ignoring the pointed stares turned your way.

Tobio answered for you, “She’s been helping me practice almost everyday, both at home and after school practices, so no, she’s still pretty sharp.”

You shot him a fleeting smile. Having your brother vouch for your abilities was always reassuring.

The Captain nodded and sat up, “Sounds good. Perhaps a couple of short practice sets can give us a better idea of what you can do then.”

The boys all watched expectantly. You mulled the proposition over, sucking on your teeth lightly.

“Yeah, okay.”

After you’d all loosened up a bit, it came to dividing into teams. You stood beside Tobio as the Captain and Vice chatted to each other.

“You’ll do great,” he murmured beside you, his knuckles brushing yours.

“Okay! We’ve decided on teams!” Sugawara said, beaming brightly.

Daichi stepped forward then, hands on his hips, “Narita will be the referee. We’ll do two sets.”

He turned to you and your brother.

“For the first set, Tomiyo-san will be on Suga’s team. Kageyama, you’re with me.”

You blanched and felt Tobio tense.

“We can’t play together?” he demanded, leaning forward.

Sawamura sighed, “We need to see what she can do as an individual player first. Then we’ll see what you can do as a team.”

You glanced at your twin and saw how he ground his teeth, his jaw clenched. You hooked your pinky around his.

“It’s okay,” you whispered, feeling him relax.

“Alright then!” Sugawara continued, “Ennoshita, Tsukishima, Kinoshita, you’re with me!”

“Hinata, Yamaguchi and Tanaka with me,” Sawamura finished, then led his team off to the other side of the net.

Sugawara walked over to you, all warm smiles. There was something about the grey-haired boy that made you feel a little more at ease.

His eyes widened as he stood before you though.

“Whoa, you’re a lot taller up close,” he chuckled, “What’s your height?”

You thought back to when you last checked.

“I think just a bit less than one seventy-five?” you answered. Tsukishima’s brows shot up.

Kinoshita’s eyes bugged out and he groaned, “She’s as tall as I am.”

“Wait until she’s in third year,” Ennoshita snorted, shaking his head at Kinoshita’s apparent crisis.

Sugawara waved them off, “Anyway, so exactly what position are you most comfortable playing in, Tomiyo-chan?”

“Wherever really,” you answered, “Since Tobio specialises as a setter, I most often spike for him, but when he’s serving I receive. When he’s polishing up his spikes I block or set, and when he wants to work on his receives, I serve. So I can play almost anywhere.”

Sugawara looked impressed, “You can spike those really quick tosses of his?”

You blinked, “Yes? I’ve never had issues with them.”

There was a moment of silence as the four boys looked at you like you’d grown a second set of eyes on your forehead.

“Christ…” Tsukishima muttered, and you shot him a sharp glare.

Ennoshita cut in, “Are you going to be okay with the net? It’s higher than the nets for the girls.”

You shrugged, “Used to practice with Tobio after school pretty often, so I’m accustomed to that.”

The second year guy, also with shortly clipped hair, Narita, walked over and handed Sugawara a ball. He passed it over to you, his fingers gentle and lithe as the sphere rolled into yours.

“Are you also a setter, Sugawara-san?”

He was surprised at that, “I am. How did you know?”

You spun the ball in your left palm, “Your control is pretty good.”

You stared down at the volleyball in your hands, squeezing, testing the give. It was green, red and white. A Molten ball, the exact same model that you and Tobio kept at home.

You bounced it a few times as your teammates began assigning positions, just enjoying the crisp thud against the wooden floor, unaware of the way your brother watched you from across the court.

“Kageyama, you good?” Tanaka asked.

Daichi’s team had huddled together somewhat to plan, and Tobio sauntered over. The captain looked at him expectantly.

“Okay so, tell us about how we can play against your sister.”

Tobio inhaled and frowned, “I’ve never played against her in a match. To be honest… I think it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Hinata cocked his head to the side, “Why’s that?”

“Let’s put it this way. If I’m a ‘genius’ when it comes to setting, like people say, she’s a monster on offense.”

“What? How so?” Tanaka asked.

“Her ball control and hand-eye coordination skills are ridiculous, and her spatial awareness is better than mine.”

Daichi’s eyes widened.

If Kageyama was saying that, and he could accurately set balls without looking where they were going, the prospect of seeing what his sister could do was almost frightening.

The dark-haired boy continued, “She’s also really flexible, as you saw. She’s been doing gymnastics for almost as long as we’ve been playing volleyball, so she’s pretty strong and can jump really high too. But that’s not even the worst damn thing we have to deal with.”

Yamaguchi was looking rather apprehensive, glancing over to the girl rolling the ball along her arm, all the way from her fingertips to her shoulder and back. Daichi narrowed his eyes.

“We’re balanced enough to handle strong players. What’s the biggest issue we have to work against?” he asked.

Kageyama’s eyes glinted, keen and raring to go. Apparently the idea of playing against his twin was exciting now. A challenging opponent.

“She’s ambidextrous.”


	2. Talons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to know the crows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy we back. I’m dealing with college right now so life’s hella hectic but I’m going to keep to this as much as I can. This chapter is also a little short, but I'm mostly judging the cut-off points based on what feels right rather than meeting a specific word count.
> 
> So for context, we’re starting the Wednesday after the 3 vs 3 match between Kageyama/Hinata and Tsukishima/Yamaguchi, which means they’re in their second or third week of the school year, since clubs don’t start straight off the bat.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! ＼(￣▽￣)／

Daichi’s team learned rather early on that playing against Kageyama Tomiyo was an exercise in patience.

“She takes time to build up a rhythm,” her brother had murmured during their planning, “She’ll play safe for a while to get a feel for Sugawara-san and the others before she picks up the pace.”

They needed to take advantage of that window of opportunity.

Unfortunately for them, however, even when Tomiyo wasn’t on the offense, she was a formidable player. And with Tsukishima on the opposing team as well, they were having some issues getting through the defenses.

“Tanaka-san!” Kageyama called, sending the ball to the second year.

Daichi watched as the setter’s sister bounced into a slightly wider stance as soon as Tanaka’s hand made contact with the ball and leaned down to receive it, sending it up and over to Suga without so much as batting an eyelid.

“Tanaka! Don’t hold back just because she’s a girl!” Suga laughed, setting over to Ennoshita. They scored, Yamaguchi just being out of reach to save the ball, making it 5-3 to Suga’s team.

The wing spiker at least looked a bit ashamed as Tomiyo gazed at him.

“Right, sorry.”

You blinked at the buzz-cut boy. You weren’t exactly surprised. It generally took guys a little while to grow accustomed to the fact that you could play on par with their power levels.

You weren’t going to let that slide though.

The team huddled close, giving Ennoshita a few cheerful high-fives. Sugawara dusted his hands off and gave you a grin.

“Let me know as soon as you’re feeling good to start scoring Tomiyo-chan.”

You nodded, “I think I can now, before they start using more force.”

Tsukishima sneered, “About time.”

You opted to ignore him completely and moved back to position, waiting for Kinoshita’s serve.

He almost messed it up, the ball thankfully rolling over the top of the net, but Sawamura managed to clip it up and send it to Tobio, who set it to Tanaka again.

He hit a clean shot straight at the space between you and Ennoshita, but you could see that the second year wasn’t going to get there fast enough.

“I got it!” you hollered, bolting for it. The slap of the ball against your forearms was a dull thud now as you delivered it, although it was definitely more pronounced than the last spike. Tanaka wasn’t using his full power yet, but he was ramping it up.

“Tomiyo-chan!” Suga called, and you darted forward.

Your feet slammed down on the floor and you launched yourself up, both arms pulling you higher until you could see over the net.

And the ball smacked you right on the boob.

...

Your shoes squeaked quietly as you landed, the ball bouncing away sadly.

Everyone watched it roll out of the boundary lines, dead silent. Judging by his expression, you were pretty sure Sugawara was traumatised for life.

You snorted, “Well... that’s awkward.”

“To-Tomiya-chan! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise you could j-”

You cut Sugawara off, “It’s okay. It happens.”

He seemed to deflate so you steered the subject away slightly.

“It takes a while for teams to sync up, so really it’s okay Sugawara-san,” you offered, “I just need the ball to get almost a metre above the net and centred to my middle.”

You drew an imaginary line up with your fingers from your sternum up to your nose and into the air, trying your best to frame where your reach extended for your arms.

The senior nodded, successfully distracted from his previous blunder, “Gotcha. I’ll correct it.”

You sniffed and he looked sheepish for a moment, rubbing the back of his head.

“Sorry again though, I really wasn’t expecting you to jump that high,” he explained.

You nodded, “That’s fair. I trained my vertical jumps specifically for tricks in gymnastics over the years, so it’s probably stronger than what you’d expect.”

He grinned, clapping his hands together, “Let’s give this another go then yeah?”

“Mm!”

The next few rallies didn’t open up any opportunities for attacking for you, but you did a damn good job of keeping the ball in play if you did say so yourself. However, Tobio’s team was starting to shift the momentum of the game to their side despite your efforts.

Ah but, it was your serve now. Your teammates gave you a bunch of little thumbs up, and you’d be a bit more patronised if it wasn’t kind of adorable.

The slam of the ball on the wooden flooring was so satisfying as you bounced it. Molten balls were a little softer than official competition balls, so you had to give it a little more ‘oomf’.

“Nice serve, Tomiyo-chan!”

You caught the ball and looked up, scanning the opposing team.

Tobio seemed to be the only one who was really on guard. Sawamura was focused on you, but his body language was relaxed. Yamaguchi, Tanaka and Hinata weren’t even trying, just standing and watching.

_They don’t think it’ll be a strong serve._

You huffed, and tossed the ball high.

_Your mistake, boys._

You dashed for the end line and leapt, your left hand meeting the rough surface of the ball.

They didn’t even react as it flew over Sawamura’s shoulder and smacked the court.

The silence was amazing.

“S-service ace!” Ennoshita yelped.

Sugawara cheered, his hands coming up to run through his hair, “That’s crazy Tomiyo-chan! A jump serve?! And you’re a lefty?”

You offered them a small smile, “Thanks, but I don’t think it will ever be as strong as Tobio’s. I’m pretty accurate though. I use both hands interchangeably.”

Kinoshita gaped, “That’s ridiculous.”

Sugawara looked far too excited, “No kidding! Think you can give us another?”

You grinned properly now, “I’ll give it my best shot.”

* * *

Tsukishima Kei wasn’t affected easily. In fact, he prided himself on the fact that he could keep his cool. Unlike a certain _King of the Court_.

But this girl, that King’s sister… She was a fucking weapon.

Four service aces in and Daichi’s team finally managed to stop her, with her twin being the only one who seemed to pick up her shot.

_What the fuck?_

Her face was generally blank, like her brother, but there were moments, flickers of joy as she played. Something a little smug too, which Kei understood.

She was _punishing_ the opponents. Like every point she clawed away from them and each clean receive was screaming _“This is what you get for underestimating me”_.

It was kind of funny. Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

She finished the set with another two service aces.

“Whoo!” Sugawara laughed, approaching her with his hands up.

She blinked at him, a confused frown on her face as she spun the ball on her open palm.

Kei scoffed. He could see that the twins also had almost complete social ineptitude in common.

She eventually figured out the high-five motion and returned it, her hands softly tapping Suga’s, Ennoshita’s and Kinoshita’s.

The blur of orange entered the corner of Tsukishima’s vision and he was pretty sure he felt a headache starting to bloom immediately.

“That was awesome Kageyama!” Hinata shouted, eyes shining and taking the stoic girl aback.

“T-Tomiyo is fine,” she muttered, her hand curling over the hem of her shirt.

Daichi and her brother ambled over, the captain giving the girl a hearty laugh and a pat on her shoulder.

“That was great Tomiyo-chan!,” he grinned. Kei still found it a bit jarring to see the two side by side, Kageyama Tomiyo just barely a hair shorter than the broad-shouldered guy.

“Thanks…”

Kageyama looked pleased, if not a little miffed that he’d lost to his sister, and gently ruffled her hair, eliciting a pout.

“Well, let’s try switching it up!” Daichi said with a clap of his hands.

“Osu!”

* * *

Playing _against_ Kageyama Tomiyo was a **fucking nightmare**.

Tsukishima grit his teeth as you slammed another shot past him, face almost _bored_.

He cursed under his breath. That was _seven_ points now.

The twins had picked up really quickly that you were a great counter to single blockers. It wasn’t that you were particularly strong or forceful enough to get through his block, but your sheer range with both arms gave you far more options than Kei could cover in a split-second. Coupled with quick and accurate tosses from your brother that you were more than used to working with, and the pair were damn near unstoppable without a three person wall up.

The opponent team was the twins, Yamaguchi, Daichi and Ennoshita, with the score far in their lead at 21-13.

He was pretty sure everyone on the team was smitten with you already.

You stole the set from beneath them, giving your brother a crisp slap of your hands. Kei had been lowkey freaked out by how in sync the two were, playing in near silence aside from a few hushed whispers and weirdly intense staring coupled with minute facial expressions.

“Wow…” Sugawara murmured beneath his breath as everyone went to cool down, eyeing the twins.

“I _know_ ,” Daichi chuckled, “I supposed that’s to be expected though, considering she’s only really trained with Kageyama through junior high, and he’s so damn talented. She had to keep up somehow.”

Across the court, standing by your bags with Tobio, you felt warm. Happy.

“So how was it?” he asked, sipping from his bottle, navy eyes as piercing as usual.

You hummed, “It was good. Fun.”

He nodded, gaze softening.

“They’re nice. Amusing,” you added.

He huffed, scowling, “Not Tsukishima. Not too sure about Yamaguchi either.”

You snickered, “That’s fair.”

You both walked back to the team and Sawamura-san smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Well Tomiyo-chan? What do you think of the boy’s team?” he asked, brows quirked.

You took a swig from your water, and levelled all of the guys with an appraising look, “You want my _honest_ opinion?”

“Yes?”

Tobio snorted, “No you don’t. She’s meaner than I am.”

You elbowed him, earning a grumble, then pointed at Hinata, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

“Your receives are absolute dogshit.”

The freckled boy and Sugawara choked on their water, and Hinata looked stunned. Tanaka and the other second years gaped openly.

“It’ll be an issue defense-wise in the future, although Tsukishima’s blocks are pretty on point.”

You didn’t like the tall, cocky blond, but even you had to admit that his read blocking was sharp. You, specifically, were just a mission against blockers in general, so you couldn’t blame him for having a hard time in the match.

“Otherwise, you guys aren’t bad,” you said with a shrug, “It just feels a bit… empty? Like you guys need a libero and designated ace. And some good old fashioned training.”

You hoped that didn’t sound too offensive. You and Tobio were notoriously shit at voicing your feelings to other people, no matter how blunt you were to each other.

Daichi nodded, “That’s true. But otherwise, Tomiyo-chan, do you want to join us?”

You felt your cheeks warm and you eyed your trainers.

 _Did_ you want to change teams? It was a hefty question. The girls may be peeved about it, but _you_ felt better, more suited to the overall pace and energy of the boys. Hell, you weren’t even sure if you would be allowed to compete with them at all.

You felt Tobio’s hand encircle over yours and inhaled, scanning the faces of the boys around you. Aside from Tsukishima, they were smiling, varying degrees of keen excitement and understanding in their gazes.

Yeah... maybe…

“I-if you’ll have me,” you mumbled, your voice coming out quieter and less assertive than you had intended. Tobio squeezed your fingers.

The erupting cheers took you off guard and you flinched, eyes wide.

Your brother shrugged and murmured, “They’re always hyped for something.”

“I see…”

Daichi clapped, getting everyone’s attention, “Alright then, it’s getting late, so let’s cool down and clean up. Then we can go get some meat buns down at Sakanoshita, my treat.”

There was another collective whoop and a round of loud _“Thanks Captain!”_.

Seems like most of these boys were just always down to party.

Cool down stretches were nice now that you were warm and limber. You cracked your joints slowly as per your usual routine.

Constant abuse of your body in your years of gymnastics did that.

You worked through your feet, popping your ankles, then knees and hips. They were generally quieter, although your knees liked to crack first thing in the mornings.

Then came your back, shoulders and arms, which made their presence known. Noisily.

Tobio didn’t even seem to notice as you cracked through your spine, each successive pop releasing subtle tension. Not quite the same could be said for the others.

“You’re giving me goosebumps over here, Tomiyo-chan,” Sugawara teased as he sat in butterfly pose.

You returned the smile and rolled your wrists, chuckling as half the boys either winced or watched, boggled, as the joints groaned and cracked. Your fingers were always the loudest though.

Tobio nudged you as he moved between positions once you had finished.

“Can you do mine?” he inquired softly, “Feels a little stiff.”

You nodded and took his hand, massaging through the fine musculature and tendons.

You always helped him with this, since your brother was pretty terrible at self-care sometimes, and had a tendency to overexert himself. Between school and volleyball, Tobio’s hands were constantly working.

You popped each knuckle with a sharp whipping motion, eliciting a relieved exhale from your sibling.

“Whatcha doin’?” Hinata asked from across the circle.

“Just getting all the muscles and bones as mobile as possible,” you explained, “Can’t have Tobio developing carpal tunnel or something.”

“Ooh ooh can you try on me?” Sugawara cried out excitedly, shuffling over. It appeared as if everyone was pretty much done with their stretches and were starting to clean.

“Sure.”

Once you’d helped Sugawara with his hands, earning a very satisfied groan from the senior as you worked out the tenseness from between his digits, you assisted Narita with taking down the net and then joined the others mopping the floors. You hadn’t even noticed the sun setting during your matches, and it was well dark by the time you all stumbled out of the gym, sleepy and hungry.

“Meat buns! Meat buns! Meat buns!”

Okay, apparently Tanaka and Hinata were much more hungry than sleepy.

You gathered your things and changed back into the maroon school tracksuit. It was still rather chilly in the evenings after all.

You tailed the boys to their clubroom, checking your phone notifications outside while they changed and grabbed their belongings. No messages, just a reminder to take your medication when you got home.

“C’mon Tomiyo-chan! Time to go home.”

You glanced up from your phone’s glowing screen to see that the boys had emerged from the clubroom, clad in their full black tracksuits, and were waiting for you by the stairs,warm smiles on most of their faces.

“Oh, coming!”

You and Tobio kept to the back of the group as you all made your way off of the school grounds, just enjoying the cool spring breeze as the others chattered and laughed away.

“I’m glad you’re on the team,” your brother whispered, his hand rising to lovingly ruffle your hair.

You hummed, leaning into the touch and looked up to the clear night sky. The stars stared back.

“Me too, To-nii.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We stan a soft Tobio-niichan ٩(◕‿◕)۶


	3. Stormclouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You start finding your place amongst the boys, although some news rattles you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long. It was honestly difficult for me to just sit down and churn it out, so it might read a little bit odd here and there but I should get back into the swing of things.
> 
> There are some teeny tiny continuity errors between this and the actual series but like, whatever.
> 
> I hope you enjoy nonetheless, the amount of love and feedback has been so encouraging so thank you for that!
> 
> And finally we got some art!

You were surprised to find yourself almost… buzzing. You barely paid attention to your classes, not that _that_ was exactly new. Most days you _tried_ to listen at least. You actually struggled to put your finger on what exactly had you all wound up for a second.

_Ah._

When was the last time you had been genuinely excited about something? And for something as mundane as club activities?

In Kitagawa Daiichi you had dominated the gymnastics club. You had always been limber and athletic as a child, always having to keep up with Tobio, and it translated nicely to the discipline. The hundreds of hours poured into it had built you into a strong and well-rounded athlete, and had honed your spatial awareness and kinesthetic abilities far past what was considered normal.

You were well aware that you were just as much of a monster as your brother.

But gymnastics had never made you feel particularly exhilarated. It was simply something you did, a part of your daily routine.

Standing on the podium had always felt hollow. Lonely.

Giving it up for volleyball had been almost cathartic.

At least you never had to wear one of those godforsaken leotards ever again. Yikes.

You decided to leave that thought to the wind as you trotted through the halls towards the clubrooms.

“Tomiyo-san! Wait up!”

You slowed, turning to the call behind you, to see Yamaguchi and Tsukishima ambling over, no doubt heading to the same destination.

“Ah, Yamaguchi-kun, Tsukishima. Hello,” you greeted. Yamaguchi replied with a smile, Tsukishima with a surprisingly cordial nod, although he _did_ narrow his eyes at you.

You had to admit, it had been a while since a boy besides Tobio had been physically larger than you, and you weren’t quite sure how you felt about it.

“There’s no need to rush,” the freckled boy chuckled, “Club only starts in fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah but I have to get there early so I can change.”

The blond cocked his head, peering down his nose at you, “Why don’t you use the girl’s clubroom?”

You scratched your cheek and looked sideways, “That would be awkward since I’m not really on their team anymore. Plus I don’t have the key.”

“Ah.”

You all walked at a comfortable pace, Yamaguchi making small talk until you reached the double-storey prefabs for the clubs, and bumped into Sugawara.

“Hey kids!” he greeted cheerily, ushering you all up the staircase, “Tomiyo-chan, Daichi has a surprise for you!”

You blinked at him, baffled and trying your damnedest not to trip, “Okay?”

Unsurprisingly, Tobio and Hinata-kun were already there, along with the captain. They grinned, with the short one waving at you dramatically, as if he wasn’t right in front of you.

“Hi Tomiyo-san!” he called out, earning him a sharp jab to the side courtesy of your twin.

“You’re too loud,” he grumbled, hand gently brushing yours in greeting as you ambled closer.

“Hello Hinata-san,” you replied, offering the redhead a tiny smile.

“So formal,” Sawamura laughed good-naturedly.

“You can call me by my given name, you know?” Hinata mused, “Since we’re using yours, it’s only fair.”

Oh boy, that was going to take a while to get used to. You hadn’t referred to anyone by their first names, aside from your siblings, since-

You cut that thought off _sharply_.

“I’ll try,” you murmured.

Yamaguchi scratched the back of his head, “Same here. If you want.”

“Okay.”

“Daichi! Show her already!” Sugawara insisted, patting the captain’s shoulder impatiently.

Sawamura chuckled and faced you again. You stiffened instinctively as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out… a key?

“Uh… thank you?”

Tsukishima snorted behind you at the lackluster response. The third years laughed.

“Takeda-sensei found out that this clubroom isn’t being used anymore,” Sugawara explained, pointing to the room to the right of the boys’ one, “And he reckoned you could use it instead of having to wait for us to change or using one of the bathrooms everyday.”

Your eyes widened as Sawamura pressed the cool metal into your palm and you stared at it for a moment.

“Go check it out,” he encouraged with a tilt of his head to the door.

You nodded and made your way over, sensing your brother hovering close by, followed by the curious shuffles of the others.

You slid the key into the lock and, with a bit of protest from the old mechanism, turned it.

The door creaked open to reveal dingy darkness. Unlike the boy’s room, there appeared to be curtains blocking out the sunlight. You ran your hand along the wall, finding the light switch and flipped it.

It was dusty and smelled faintly of mildew, with boxes of old and forgotten sporting goods pushed into the corners.

“It’s not much right now, but sensei has organised for one of the janitors to come and clear it out soon,” Sugawara consoled at seeing your scrutinising gaze skirting along the walls.

You took a couple of steps in, your hand coming up to brush idly at a box of aged lacrosse sticks and squash rackets, and turned on your heel to meet the eyes of your new team.

“Ah well I hope you don’t mind it,” Daichi offered, “We can help you move out all this old stuff after practice and it’ll be good as new! And I didn’t think you’d be comfortable changing in the boy’s roo-”

“Thank you.”

You smiled at them, dropping your bag on the metal shelf.

Yeah sure, it wasn’t much. It was dusty and unkempt, but it was _yours_ . They had only met you yesterday and they had organised this with _you_ in mind.

You made a mental note to thank Takeda-sensei when you next saw him.

The captain returned your smile, “Welcome to the team.”

* * *

You grit your teeth and silently cursed your brother for being just as sneaky as you.

They had been holding out yesterday. You had been wondering what on earth was so special about Hinata, considering his technique left much to be desired from what you’d seen.

They could do lightning fast quick attacks. And the redhead wasn’t even _looking_.

You knew Tobio was good, but _goddamn_.

“What the fuck?” you whispered, watching the ball roll away after slamming against your team’s side of the court. Your little warm up set wasn’t going quite as you’d planned.

Tsukishima grunted beside you, “It’s annoying as hell.”

Sugawara gave you an apologetic grin.

“Daichi didn’t want to overwhelm you yesterday with their quick,” he offered, seeing your furrowed brow.

You sucked on a canine as your team huddled up to strategise. Today you had Tanaka and Yamaguchi. They seemed a bit stumped as well.

“I think maybe we could have someone commit block Hinata? Or we could just focus on trying to receive?” they murmured amongst themselves.

You glanced to the opposing team. Hinata had scored twice in a row with that quick, followed by Sawamura after you and Tsukishima had been distracted by the little fireball.

_Stupid mistake._

You rubbed your jaw, replaying the last few rallies over in your mind.

“Tomiyo-chan? You okay?” Sugawara asked.

You nodded.

“Give me a few more rounds,” you said, “I’ll figure out the pattern.”

Because that’s all it was, really. Volleyball, gymnastics, mathematics, music, anything. It was all just patterns and angles and rhythms.

Hinata and Tobio were no exception.

But you could _feel_ when it was going to happen. There was something just in the way Hinata’s demeanour changed. Like seeing the flip side of a coin.

Your team had to surrender another handful of points. Honestly, Sugawara wasn’t exactly expecting to win against the freak duo, but having both Tsukishima and Tomiyo on defense bolstered his hopes a little. But once Daichi’s team hit twenty points, he reckoned he was expecting too much. Tomiyo had made her shock at seeing that attack quite clear.

Kōshi had to give the girl props for sheer tenacity though, given the way her dark eyes flitted around the court, tracking each player’s movements with that intense calm like what he’d seen her brother do in the three versus three match.

His own focus was starting to wane somewhat when she finally seemed to grasp at the edges of what her brother’s thought pattern seemed to be.

It was in the middle of one of the longer rallies when you felt that shift in the air, the tiniest change in Tobio’s body language, that animalistic instinct that gripped you by the gut.

Sawamura had just jumped up, in position to spike, and you had Tsukishima beside you, bracing to put up the block.

You’d just have to trust him to stop it should you be wrong.

With that thought, you bolted to the other end of the net, dodging behind Tanaka, and leapt as high as you could, trainers slamming into the wood with a squeal.

And above the rope, between you and the floor of the other team’s court, you were met with a pair of wide brown eyes.

You were almost lost in that moment as you and Hinata stared at each other for that split second, his eyes so clear and focused, that you almost forgot to lift your own hands.

_Bam!_

The ball hit their court, swiping dangerously close to the line.

You scored.

“Oh fuck, _finally_ ,” you heaved a harsh exhale above you, placing you hands on your hips. You could feel a bead of hot sweat roll down your temple.

You jumped as you felt hands clap your back enthusiastically, and turned to see Sugawara’s gleeful grin and Tanaka’s slightly more menacing one. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima just watched you, eyes wide.

“Holy crap Tomiyo-chan!” the vice-captain cheered, ruffling your fringe gently, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you could actually pull that off!”

You scratched your cheek, “Uh yeah, it was a bit of a gamble there.”

You glanced to the other side of the net. Tobio’s eyes were aflame, narrowed at you, and you returned it with a sunshiny smile and a wink. Then Hinata…

There was a profound understanding there. You lowered your chin, remembering how your gazes had met in the air.

_You see it too, then? The other side?_

There, deep in those earthy irises, you could see the spark of a challenge ignite.

You grinned.

“One more,” you and Hinata demanded in unison.

* * *

You groaned as you stretched out your shoulders, sweat still warm on your skin. Your twin chuffed a sound of agreement beside you as he went about his own cool down routine.

Everyone had played a full three sets, then another bunch of drills thereafter, and were finally calling it a day as the sun set, pulling in the evening chill lingering in the spring air.

Your team hadn’t been able to take the warm up set from Tobio’s unfortunately. You’d had a difficult time getting accustomed to his and Hinata’s synergy, and once you had started to get the hang of it, they’d already swept the set from you.

Seeing that hadn’t really frustrated you, to be honest. No.

You were excited to see where you could take it, as a team. They all had energy and drive. It was so different to how you’d felt in the girl’s team just a couple days ago.

You had all just finished cleaning up when Sawamura’s voice boomed through the room.

“Gather up!”

You cracked your back as you sauntered over, ready for a hearty dinner and a good night’s rest.

“Good work everyone!”

You brightened at the softer voice of Takeda-sensei, standing beside the captain with a clipboard in his arms and jogged over. He smiled warmly at you.

“Hello Tomiyo-chan! You looked like you were having fun. How was your first official practice?” he asked, turning all his attention on you.

You immediately clammed up.

“Uh, it was good. Great. Um, thank you for the...uh…”

Thankfully he seemed to understand and laughed good-naturedly, “Oh the clubroom? I’m glad you’re okay with it. It needs a little love but I’m sure come Monday it will be one hundred percent ready for you.”

You just nodded and returned to Tobio’s side, hoping that you didn’t look _too_ awkward. You accepted your maroon tracksuit top from where it dangled in his hands, already clad in his black club jacket to ward off the cold.

“Take a seat everyone. We have to start hashing out all the details for the practice match on Tuesday.”

You blinked, tugging at the zipper. Asano-sensei had mentioned something like that from what you could recall, although you’d been a bit distracted at the time. Tuesday was closer than what was comfortable, only a mere three days away.

You plopped down onto the wooden floor, letting your legs splay out in front of you as the captains and Takeda-sensei started arranging positions on a small whiteboard. You started to fiddle with your hair, letting it down from the tight ponytails and weaving it into a looser braid. Tobio bumped his shoulder into yours softly and you leaned your head on him, watching as Sawamura lifted the board for everyone to see.

“Alright, so regarding the team for the practice match,” he started, propping it up on his legs, “I think this is how we’ll do it.”

You straightened and rubbed at your eyes, eliciting a curious hum from your brother. You _had_ to be seeing things. There was _no way_.

They were still there, two bright scarlet magnets on the rectangle that represented the court, both with the kanji for _Kageyama_ on them. Tobio squeezed your hand.

Sawamura continued on, “I want to try using Kageyama and Hinata as a set, and Tsukishima is one of our tallest players, so I want to see how that will play out on the court against Seijoh.”

Your brain stuttered to a halt.

_Seijoh?_

Tobio stiffened and you frowned. No wonder he hadn’t mentioned anything. You eyed him silently whilst the others chattered, and decided to rather bring it up once you were in the privacy of your home.

Hinata was going to be set as a middle blocker, which was an odd idea but you supposed it was most suitable given you, Tanaka and Daichi were designated wing spikers. Although the small redhead wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of being a decoy at first, prompting Tobio to _sort of_ encourage him, in his own oddly intense way.

“You’ll score a bunch of points with the quick attacks and divert the opponent blocker’s attention onto you. That’s when our other spikers can strike,” he explained, prompting Hinata to make a soft ‘ah’ of interest.

“Big guys like Tsukishima will be completely fooled by your movements,” he continued, “It’ll feel satisfying, won’t it?”

Hinata brightened, his whole face lit up and excited, although Tsukishima and Yamaguchi didn’t seem to take too nicely to the implications in your brother’s words. You snorted, earning yourself a glower from the blond.

“However, if you aren’t effective,” Tobio said, eyes narrowing, “Most of our other attacks will be useless.”

You nodded, although Sawamura intervened.

“Hey don’t pressure him!” he whisper-shouted, pointing at the redhead, now mumbling to himself, “Look at him.”

You cocked your head and blinked at the shortest, making a mental note to watch him over the next few days.

* * *

You and Tobio had gotten home in tense silence. Every time you glanced at him, he avoided your gaze, and as soon as you had entered your house, he had almost bolted for the kitchen, saying that he would handle dinner.

You narrowed your eyes at his retreating back. You’d let him go. For now.

It didn’t escape your attention that he fried up some tempura squid, one of your favourite foods, or how he softly rebuffed any of your efforts to help him.

He was buttering you up for the inevitable.

You thanked him regardless and let him have his solitude for most of the night, until you had both bathed and gotten ready for bed.

The knock on his door was brisk, echoing through the empty house. Otōsan was pulling a late night at work again.

“Come in.”

You entered your brother’s room, letting the door close behind you with a soft _click_.

He watched you from his bed, lying on his back with his volleyball in his hands. You approached and he lifted his arms, making space for you to flop down onto him. You curled against his side, humming as he put aside the ball, his hands coming to card through your damp hair.

“So…” you started.

He paused.

“Aoba Johsai, huh?”

You could hear him swallow, “Yeah…”

“I’m not mad,” you added. And you weren’t. You couldn’t blame Tobio for keeping the information from you.

The wounds were still healing.

“They went there, didn’t they?” you asked, hugging your twin closer. He was always warmer than you.

“Yeah, I think so,” he answered, but his nose and brow scrunched up, “But, to be honest, I’m more worried about…”

“Oikawa?”

“Mmm.”

You inhaled deeply, sighing out your nose, wiping away images of mocha brown curls and boyish giggles from your thoughts.

“We’ll be okay.”

Tobio grunted quietly, fingers twirling a strand of inky hair, his mind far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy! God I love the Cuddlyama Twins.
> 
> So yeah I hope that was okay. I'll be picking up some more speed and will hopefully be able to churn out another chapter around Christmas, but regardless I hope you all enjoy your holidays!
> 
> Thanks for reading ◝(⁰▿⁰)◜


	4. Crows in the Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find yourself in an unfamiliar place, but with some familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some backstory ‘n shit.
> 
> We’re also finally leaving episode 5. Only took four chapters.

Tuesday crept up on you far too quickly.

You spent the weekend polishing up some of your setting skills with Tobio and refreshing your memory on the official game rules so you didn’t do something really stupid midgame, and come Monday, everyone seemed at least a little wound up, although most of the team could play it off somewhat convincingly.

All except Hinata.

No, the tiny ginger was freaking out big time. He was walking into objects and people, getting distracted during practice and messing up the most basic of tasks.

Just yesterday he’d mistakenly put on the incorrect pair of pants before leaving the clubroom, prompting Tanaka to chase after him to reclaim his hijacked clothing, giving you and a passing tennis player a shock upon seeing his very, uh, _interesting_ choice in pink boxers.

Honestly, the fact that you had seen the guy in different states of undress twice within your first week of knowing him was starting to become a bit alarming.

On the day of the match, it felt like time was working against you. Your classes flew by one by one in the blink of an eye and before you knew it, you were lined up by the bus outside school with the rest of the team.

You filed in, sitting beside your brother. His mind seemed to be a bit far away, so you let him sit by the window to enjoy the view, offering him one of your earphones and trying your best to relax to some soft lo-fi.

The drive to the other side of Sendai would take a while, so you settled down to take a nap, nestling yourself against Tobio’s shoulder. He hummed and you felt the weight of his head rest against yours.

However, as soon as you both were starting to nod off, Sugawara twisted up onto his knees in the seat in front of you, giving you and your brother a boyish grin.

“You two are adorable, you know?” he asked, resting his chin on his arms folded on the backrest.

You shared an incredulous look with your twin.

“How do you figure?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

The vice-captain shrugged, “I guess ‘cause you guys seem really close. Like, you don’t bicker the way other siblings do.”

You blinked up at him, “We don’t really ever have reason to fight. It’s pretty rare.”

Tobio nodded, opening his mouth to say something until Tsukishima cut him off from across the aisle.

“It’s because they’re basically clones,” he chimed in, earning him a chuckle from Yamaguchi in front of him.

“Tsukishima,” Sugawara warned.

Tobio huffed, “She’s my best friend.”

You felt your chest warm at the words, although you’d known it for as long as you can remember. It never failed to touch your heart when Tobio was so open about his feelings.

“Aw!” Sugawara cooed.

“Also, she’s terrifying when she’s properly mad. And I’d like to live past twenty,” Tobio added sagely.

You choked out a bark of laughter, his hand smoothing over your hair.

“Seriously?” Yamaguchi asked. Both he and Tsukishima were turned slightly in their seats, having included themselves in the conversation apparently.

Tobio nodded, then whispered, “It’s worse than Daichi-san.”

You snorted, about to rebuke him, but a loud ruckus erupted at the back of the bus, garnering everyone’s attention. Hinata was slouched over his seat and Tanaka was shrieking, some questionable substance on his pants.

The reek of vomit breached your nose, acidic and burning. Your stomach flipped and you raised a hand to cover your mouth.

Tobio took in your expression and hurriedly yanked open the window. You leaned over him and shoved your face outside, the wind whipping around your baby hairs. He slid over to your seat and gently patted your back.

Under the swishing of the fresh air blasting your face, you could pick up a strained mutter from Sugawara.

“Well, this is going much worse than we anticipated.”

* * *

You were out of that bus as soon as Takeda-sensei had pulled it to a stop, gulping in deep breaths of cool, soothing oxygen as if you could cleanse the very _memory_ from your brain and nostrils.

“Where’s the fire, Princess?” came the sneering drawl from behind you. You scrunched up your nose.

“ _Princess?_ ” you grumbled, throwing a glare over your shoulder at Tsukishima as he trailed out of the bus, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

He smirked in a way that made you want to knock his teeth in, tilting his head towards Tobio, who was sifting through his bag.

“King,” then moving his smug gaze onto you, “Princess. Fitting, no?”

“You’re an asshole.”

“You okay, Tomiyo-chan?” Yamaguchi asked, close behind the blond.

You nodded and tapped the side of your nose, “Yeah, just kinda sensitive to smells and stuff.”

“Ahhh.”

As the rest of the team shuffled out and Hinata started profusely apologizing, you took a minute to look around.

Aoba Johsai was big. Surprisingly quiet, although it _was_ fairly secluded from the hustle and bustle of the city. The school buildings were all modern architecture and windows, the courtyards scattered with flower beds and various kinds of other foliage. Birds cawed through the campus as some grey clouds rolled into the sky, making your skin break out into goosebumps beneath your jacket.

A few students milled about, no doubt doing club activities or going home, and you scoffed.

That uniform was _horrendous_. Thank goodness you and Tobio decided to skip out in favour of Karasuno.

You felt a soft bumping of your shoulder and glanced up.

“You coming?” Tobio asked, and you swore that for a moment his voice wavered just a fraction.

“I’m going to stick back and help Shimizu-san and Takeda-sensei,” you murmured.

_Give me a moment._

He nodded and brushed past you with a couple of the boys. From afar you could properly admire how sleek they looked in their black tracksuits, even though Tanaka was sporting shorts after the puke fiasco.

“Are you alright?”

You almost jumped out of your skin at the hushed voice over your shoulder and whipped around. It was just Shimizu, and thankfully you didn’t slap her in the face with your ponytails. She blinked at you from behind her glasses.

She reminded you of your sister. How she had such a striking presence just simply being _there_.

You gave her an awkward, humorless laugh, “Yeah… Just delaying the inevitable.”

* * *

Aoba Johsai was fucking _huge_.

You stood in the entrance to the gymnasium( _one_ of the gymnasiums, actually), gawking up at the massive hall along with your teammates after the captains had herded them in.

Because apparently Tanaka and Tsukishima had managed to trash talk some of the Seijoh volleyball club members _already_.

Poor Sawamura-san.

You offered your greetings to those already practicing, receiving a chorus of masculine voices back. Tobio’s hand squeezed yours as you flinched. You threaded your fingers through his.

_I’m okay. I’m okay._

At least you were for now. No one had spotted you yet, half hidden behind your brother.

Tobio at least seemed to have relaxed somewhat, looking about with his usual frown on his face, shoulders back and untensed.

It was almost funny, in a sad way. In another life, you both would have called Aoba Johsai your home, clad in blue and white instead of black and red.

You distantly registered Hinata running off to the bathroom and followed the captains off to the side of the courts, numbly starting your warm up stretching.

It felt like you were underwater, voices muddled and head hazy, your eyes blankly set on the wooden floor.

“Oi.”

You blinked and felt a light thump on your skull. You twisted in your stretch, confused, to see Tsukishima towering behind you and pulled off the red practice bib he’d plopped onto your head.

He narrowed his eyes at you, “If you zone out during the game, you’ll get put on the bench.”

It was an obvious statement of fact, but it brought your focus back, waving away the fog in your mind.

“Right. Yeah.”

He nodded and walked away to stand by Yamaguchi, leaving you to your thoughts again. You couldn’t help but find the blond exceptionally vexing in the short time you’d known him.

Sugawara ushered you to get ready with a sweet smile on his face, and you chatted lightly about schoolwork whilst stripping yourself of your outer layers. The talking helped, both in soothing your nerves and in instilling some sense of normalcy to the fact that you were _definitely_ being watched at this point, considering the curious murmurs you could faintly pick up. Even Tanaka and Ennoshita had sauntered a little closer to join in on the conversation, adding an extra layer to the small shield until you were in your shorts and white shirt.

You tugged the bib on and glanced down at it, the number three emblazoned across the torso. Sugawara gave you a thumbs up and you found your mouth twitching upwards.

“Tomiyo-chan?”

Takeda-sensei beckoned you over and you pottered towards him, brows furrowed.

“Yes?” you asked.

“Come with me please,” he asked kindly, and for a moment you had the feeling that he and Sugawara gave off similar vibes. You followed him, even if leaving your team sent a cold spike of anxiety down to your fingertips.

“Just a bit of a formality, but since you’re a special case, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of introducing yourself to the other coaches before the match and letting them know that you’ll be partaking in the games,” he explained, tucking a dark curl behind his ear and adjusting his glasses. Walking beside him was odd, seeing as he was a good few inches shorter than you.

“No need to fret,” he murmured as you neared the other side of the courts, where two adult men were standing and overseeing their team’s warm up from afar, “I’ll always be with you when this happens.”

You were grateful that Asano-sensei had spoken to him about your... issues. You nodded and he patted your back, waving at the coaches.

“Irihata-sensei! Thank you so much for inviting us for the match,” he greeted, bowing deeply to the older of the two men.

He was probably in his mid to late forties, with a head of dark grey hair and pronounced wrinkles along his eyes and mouth. Beside him stood a younger man with short, dirty blond hair, watching his students stretching like a hawk. Both wore two-toned blue tracksuit uniforms.

Irihata approached and gave a polite bow back, then shook Takeda’s hand firmly, a surprisingly friendly smile gracing his face.

“Thank you for accepting on such short notice,” he answered, his voice gruff but affable.

With the pleasantries now out of the way, Irihata’s gaze shifted to you.

“And who might this be?” he asked, offering you a bob of his head. You shifted on your feet and lowered your eyes.

Thankfully, Takeda spoke on your behalf, hand clasping your shoulder.

“This is Kageyama Tomiyo. She was moved from the girl’s team to ours and she’ll be playing in the match today.”

The words were mellow and calm, but almost… steely underneath. The phrasing left no room for argument.

It made you want to squirm, and you prayed you never got in trouble with Takeda-sensei.

Irihata’s brows rose, “I see. Interesting.”

Takeda’s fingers twitched, “Will that be a problem?”

Irihata laughed, hand waving in front of his face, “No no, not at all.”

He then turned to you again with a thoughtful grin, arms folded and tapping his knuckle to his chin, “On the boy’s team and the starting line-up? You must be very skilled hm?”

It was definitely far more positive than you were expecting.

“I’d like to think so, sir,” you answered, your hands balling at the hem of your shorts.

Takeda relaxed almost imperceptibly, his smile not budging, “So if you could just let your team know, that would be great.”

“Of course,” he nodded, then shouted over his shoulder, “Iwaizumi!”

Oh...

Oh **_shit_**.

How the **fuck** could you have forgotten about Iwaizumi?!

You had been so focused on having to see Kunimi and Kindaichi again and how you and Tobio were going to handle dealing with Oikawa that he completely sli-

_“Tomiyo?”_

You stiffened, ever so slowly lifting your eyes.

Iwaizumi Hajime had always held a warm and cozy place in your heart, even if he had been tucked away along with most of those melancholic and stained visions of Kitagawa Daiichi. Memories of raspy chuckles and a strong arm swung over your shoulders, of him covering you with his club jacket when you forgot your umbrella and spending afternoons at the park with the team after tiring practices.

You swallowed.

“Iwaizumi-san.”

He was a vision in teal. He wore his black coffee hair the same as he always had, spikey and untamed. He had gone through another growth spurt too, considering the broad spread of his shoulders and how he was slightly taller than you remember. His eyes were still that piercing juniper green, sharp and pointed directly at you.

“Wow… it’s been too long,” he murmured, giving you an appraising scan, hands on hips, “Hell, you’ve grown.”

Irihata glanced between you, “You two know each other?”

Iwaizumi nodded, “She and her brother were my kōhai in junior high.”

He grinned at you, and you had to rip your eyes from the slope of his jaw. Takeda squeezed your shoulder.

“Although last I remember she was barely one-forty centimetres.”

That was true, you had only started to truly spring up in height near the end of your second year at Kitaiichi, and you hadn’t really stopped since. Now you were just a few centimetres shy of the older boy’s height and were pretty much eye level, which was honestly _really_ jarring, considering you had always had to look up at him.

“I see,” Irihata murmured, “Such a pity you twins didn’t come here.”

You stiffened at that, and Iwaizumi pursed his lips, eyes searching your averted gaze, but the coach moved on.

“Anyways, just let the boys know that she’ll be playing as well.”

It takes Iwaizumi a second to compute the sentence.

“She… what?” he asks, eyes wide, looking between you and the other man in utter bewilderment.

The coach chuckled, “She’s playing in the match.”

Iwaizumi’s expression cleared and you had to look at the floor with how intensely he stared at you.

“I see. Okay, I’ll tell them,” he answers a beat later, but then his eyes glint, “Do you… want to come with and meet them?”

You froze at the suggestion, especially considering you could vaguely spot two heads of familiar dark hair in Seijoh’s team along your periphery, and thankfully Takeda seemed to pick up that you were one wrong move away from melting into an anxious puddle, and intercepted.

“We should actually return to the team now, I think they’ll want to discuss some last few things with her,” he redirected, patting your shoulder.

Iwaizumi nodded, his eyes still sharply trained on you as you and Takeda walked away, back to the comforting pack of your team.

Your brother gently bumped his elbow to yours, “You okay?”

You snorted, “I forgot about Iwaizumi-san.”

He huffed a small laugh.

Sawamura-san hollered from the edge of the court for you to gather up into a huddle, and you were squished in between Tobio and Hinata, who was almost literally quaking in his boots and looking a little ill. You were about to ask if he was okay but the captain started off before you could.

“Alright guys, I know we’re all pretty new to this team formation, but let’s just go out there, do our best and have some fun, yeah?” he said, giving each of you a smile.

Everyone nodded and moved to line up at the edge of the court, but as soon as you turned, you could feel the immense heat of well over a dozen pairs of eyes on you from across the net.

You took a deep inhale and resolutely stared at the lines of the wooden paneling, standing between Tanaka and Tobio as the referee announced the beginning of the match and called for the greeting. Your pinky finger curled around your twin’s and he squeezed gently.

Straightening, you rolled your shoulders and moved to your spot to the back right of the court, Tsukishima to your left and the captain in front of you.

Why Sawamura thought it was a good idea for you to serve first on your team, you had no cooking clue, and the nerves were starting to broil in the pit of your stomach.

It was intense, but you could _do this_.

With that you lifted your eyes to scan the opponents.

To see Kindaichi and Kunimi, as well as their teammates watching you intently.

Well… shit. You hadn’t really been expecting to see them in the starting lineup.

But the simmering tension in your gut quickly morphed into a burning anger at the sight of the two boys that had hurt your brother; had hurt _you_.

And-

And Oikawa _wasn’t_ there.

That was a relief, even if it was highly confusing.

You cracked your knuckles as the referee blew the starting whistle.

It was time to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo!
> 
> Sorry this chapter took a while. My college work has been exhausting and I’m sort of juggling a lot of shit on my plate but I’m going to try to update at least once every two weeks.
> 
> So in this match we take the place of Ennoshita, and we’re going to start digging into the feels soon. As you can imagine, we ain’t going to be too happy to see a certain couple of boys.
> 
> Will hopefully have art in the next chapter so look forward to that, and I hope you enjoy the update.


	5. The White Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your team takes a little while to kick into gear, and some odd feelings start to arise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long dudes. School was kicking my ass, and since I’m the team leader (for some reason?????) I had to basically corral a bunch of five year old adults into doing work, because apparently some people don’t give a shit if they fail???
> 
> Whatever, I’m ranting now.
> 
> I also had a bit of a sticky moment with this chapter and felt a little uninspired, but it should pick back up again. PLUS, I’m getting back into BNHA again, so hopefully I’ll start a fic on that too. I would have started ages ago but I’m way too indecisive on superpowers and backstories.
> 
> So this one is a little bit longer than the others, but I want to also try increasing the word count on each chapter. I hope you enjoy!

The first set was an absolute _disaster_.

And as much as you didn’t want to point fingers, it was pretty much all because of the fumbling, nervous wreck that was currently Hinata Shōyō.

It was a total mess. He was diving for balls that weren’t his, missing all spike attempts, and running into people, both teammates and the goddamn _referee_.

You could forgive some of the errors; game jitters were normal, but after he knocked you on your ass for the second time, your patience was running very, _very_ thin.

Your brother looked close to murder too, considering how Tanaka had to hold him back at some points.

“You alright down there, hm?”

You scowled and looked up at your tall, blond teammate, who was smirking down at you. Despite his mocking, he still offered you a hand. You clasped it and hoisted yourself up, although Tsukishima huffed sharply.

“You’re surprisingly heavy,” he sneered as you dusted off your shorts. You glowered at him.

“Sorry, not everybody is built like a stale noodle,” you replied, a saccharine smile painting itself onto your lips. You could’ve sworn his jaw twitched as you passed him.

Eventually your team managed to score, even if it was by a technical fault on the opposition’s side, but it had been set point to Seijoh for the last few rallies, and it was starting to gnaw on your anxiety.

“You bastard! That’s enough nervousness!”

Ah, he finally snapped.

You supposed watching your brother cuss out Hinata was a good distraction from the fact that Kunimi and Kindaichi were doing their damnedest to quietly get your attention from across the net, despite the fact that you were obviously and vehemently ignoring their presence.

As far as you were concerned, they deserved your spite. Especially considering you’d seen firsthand how they had _devastated_ your brother.

Had devastated _you_.

Thankfully, Sawamura cut off Tobio’s tirade before it got too out of hand.

“Alright, anyways, let’s score some points steadily guys!” he said, “The next serve goes to…”

Oh _no_.

It was Hinata’s serve.

From what you’d gathered so far, very few of your teammates could perform a successful jump serve, with most just opting for a basic overhand. But _Hinata’s_ serves were average at best, sometimes barely getting over the net.

This set looked like it would have to be forfeited, unless you could pull off some sort of miracle and score a dozen points in a row.

Hell, Hinata looked even more nervous now, obviously realising that if he messed this moment up, you’d be at a massive disadvantage. The set would be Seijoh’s.

At this point you weren’t sure what to expect.

But when the whistle blew, it was definitely _not_ Tobio getting whacked in the head by a botched serve.

The entire court was silent as the ball rolled away.

_Well, rest in peace, Hinata-kun._

Despite yourself, you did have to giggle along with Tanaka and Tsukishima’s laughter at your brother’s dead-eyed expression when he turned to face the source of his ire, the whistle announcing the end of the set.

A deep, throaty chuckle cut in as Sugawara scolded the other two, and you were pretty sure your brother was berating Hinata in full force.

“I wasn’t expecting you to find that funny.”

You stiffened for a second, thinking that either Kindaichi or Kunimi had finally approached you, but seeing the deep brown spikes just on the other side of the net eased the tension quickly.

You gave an amused huff through your nose and shrugged at Iwaizumi. You were definitely _not_ looking at the bead of sweat that slowly trickled down from his temple.

“Well, I learned how to play with Tobio, I’ve hit him in the face with a volleyball more times than I possibly could count,” you murmured, the corners of your lips twitching upwards as you glanced at your twin, “It’s always _a little_ funny.”

Iwaizumi hummed thoughtfully. You met his gaze from the corner of your eye before moving away to the sidelines of the court for the set closing bows.

You watched and sipped your water as Tanaka approached Hinata, the small redhead sliding to his knees in penitence. Although, surprisingly, Tanaka delved into a spiel about teamwork or something along those lines.

And when the shorter boy came over to bow and apologise profusely for bumping into you, you could see that whatever Tanaka had done had put that wild spark back into Hinata’s big brown eyes.

Perhaps you guys were back in business.

You patted his shoulder in what you hoped was a comforting gesture.

“It’s okay Shōyō-kun,” you said, giving him a small smile, “It’s my first real game too.”

You turned back to put your bottle down as everyone got ready for the next set, and didn’t notice Tobio snort at Hinata’s flaming face.

You popped your shoulders and resumed your spot on court. You’d be serving first.

_Not yet._

You weren’t feeling quite ready to start revealing all your weapons.

Throughout the first set, you’d been only using normal standing serves and playing with your right hand as the dominant.

From what you could see, even though Seijoh’s team was strong defensively, all of those in the starting lineup were right-handed.

Your lip curled.

They wouldn’t have had much practice _against_ lefties then.

“The hell you grinning about, Princess?”

You rolled your eyes at the blond as he adjusted his glasses.

“Just thinking about some tricks I want to pull,” you murmured, rolling your neck.

Tsukishima’s brow furrowed, “You’re taking a long time to warm up.”

You shrugged, “I have off days too. Plus I’m not familiar with the opponent.”

He barked a mean laugh, expression smug, “Oh? So you’re not perfect?”

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Uh huh. Like you can talk with those god awful receives. I thought you said you’d been playing for years now hmmm? Tsukishima- _kun_?”

That wiped his smile off his face, and the referee blew the whistle for the start of the new set before he could clap back.

You spun the ball in your palm, eyeing the open spots of the court. By now the Aoba Johsai team had seemed to have gotten accustomed to you playing and had their guards up.

In terms of sheer power, you’d never be on par with players like Iwaizumi, but you had agility and pinpoint accuracy, just like Tobio had in his setting. You had _versatility_.

You bumped the ball up lightly, sending it over the net with a smack against your right palm, towards a gap between the setter and a tall brunette who seemed to be their main middle blocker.

Let Tobio and Hinata set up their quick, then you could start chipping away as well.

They were the swords, fighting up front, and you’d be the gun, the dart, the _dagger_.

Seijoh returned the ball, with Kunimi spiking, and Tsukishima managed a messy receive, getting it close enough for Tobio to get under the ball.

Then Hinata burst forward and sideways with that near inhuman swiftness and jumped.

You frowned as the ball was set though. The trajectory was off, and if Hinata was still not opening his eyes mid-spike…

It missed his hand.

Well, that didn’t go quite as expected, but at least Shōyō wasn’t freezing up.

Kindaichi said something to him that you couldn’t quite pick up, and the shorter boy looked a little freaked out. You glanced at Tobio and he met your gaze, giving you a nod and moved towards your teammate.

“Hinata!”

The boy in question stiffened, and pivoted slowly to face your brother.

Tobio lifted his hand to his face, “That toss was too high. My bad.”

Honestly, the look of utter bewilderment on Kunimi and Kindaichi’s faces was priceless.

Yes, Tobio was harsh and demanding sometimes. Hell, you were too. But when he made a mistake he admitted fault, apologised, and did his best to fix the error.

Maybe he _did_ have high expectations for a middle school team last year. But he held himself to those same standards too.

Tobio always pushed _further_. Even if some people didn’t share his mindset.

Your heart swelled as you watched Hinata quip back and invoke a bit of your twin’s wrath, but the mistake was smoothed over, and you could all move on.

Seijoh’s number three, a guy a head of pink-hued hair, served next, sending the ball straight towards you. No doubt testing to see if you would be a weak link as the game progressed.

You scooted forward and bumped it up towards Tobio, “Got it!”

“Thanks!”

Shōyō shot forward again, and with Tanaka calling for the ball from the left, the opposing blockers had their attention divided for a moment.

And a split second was all Hinata needed, soaring through the air and slamming the ball down before any of them could even blink.

_Whoo, that boy can jump._

A resounding “Yeah!” erupted from your team mates, both on the court and off.

“There it is. The freak toss-and-spike,” Tsukishima dead-panned, about as enthusiastic as a funeral-goer. You couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled through your lips.

The uproar from the handfuls of students watching the match from the balcony was loud, with exclamations of shock ringing across the court as you and the blond were herded into a little huddle by Daichi. Everyone’s excitement was almost palpable.

“Okay,” Tobio started, “Hinata’s back in action.”

You didn’t miss his glance at you.

“Let’s begin our counterattack.”

The next rally went as expected, with all of the Seijoh’s team focused on Shōyō, which left a massive hole in their defenses when he jumped. One that Tanaka took advantage of, launching the ball straight onto their side of the court with a shout, the opponents too late to save it.

“Ah I thought it was coming to me!” Hinata complained, eliciting a wry smile from you.

Tanaka grasped Tobio’s shoulder and pointed straight at Kindaichi.

“See, Turnip-kun?” he taunted, “I told you we’d get you in the match!”

It took you a second to actually process what had just been said, but when you had, you started laughing uncontrollably, slapping your hands over your mouth and turning away to stifle yourself.

“The hell’s gotten into you?” Tsukishima asked, looking almost _concerned_ by your sudden glee.

You coughed out a few more snickers before you could answer.

“ _Turnip-kun_ ,” you wheezed at him, earning a facepalm and shake of his head.

You gathered your bearings, wiping a tear from your eye and gave Shōyō a firm pat on the shoulder.

“Nice stuff,” you offered encouragingly, and he beamed like the little ray of sunshine that he was.

The next rally was good, now that you have rotated to the front row. With Hinata as decoy to the left, you bolted to the other end of the court, effectively dividing up Seijoh’s defense, and whacked the ball with a sharp cross shot into the section they’d just moved from to mark him.

That small high you got from that score was short-lived, with Hinata taking the next ball right to the face after it rebounded wrong off his forearms.

But even if unrefined, your team was resourceful, and within the next few rounds, you had wrested a good lead from Aoba Johsai. The change prompted Coach Irihata to call a timeout. You gently tugged on Tobio’s pinky finger, and he arched a brow at you, still sipping his water.

“I want you to give me our usual tosses next set,” you murmured. He nodded.

Tsukishima scoffed, “The _King’s Toss_ , huh? You sure about that, _Tomiyo-chan_?”

Oh _there_ was the snarky response to your earlier jab. You gave him your sugary sweet smile again, cocking your head at him.

“It’s _that_ not hard, _Tsukishima-kun_ ,” you cooed at him, as if he was a toddler throwing a tantrum, “But maybe one day you’ll be able to do it.”

Tobio chuckled lowly beside you at the dark glare the blond leveled your way and you turned on your heels. The timeout was up.

As you were nearing the twenty point mark, the friction between Tobio and Tsukishima got amped up significantly.

Truly, Daichi-san had made a bad decision putting them right beside each other, even if they were great when they formed a block together.

And with you on Tsukishima’s left, it was honestly pretty charged on the front line.

The blond scored with a crisp strike, his height helping him stay above the opposing block.

“Your tosses are way too accurate,” he said, eyeing Tobio, “It’s freaky.”

Your brother obviously took the bait and the pair started to bicker until your captain grasped each of them firmly by the shoulder and halted the squabbling.

You felt yourself grinning again.

The boy’s team was way more fun than you had anticipated after that first day. You were pretty sure you had laughed more in the past week than you had in the last few months.

It felt _good_.

Even if a particular couple of troublemakers were starting to get on your nerves.

“Ohhh, you’re good at blocking too, huh?” Tsukishima sneered, “Don’t get carried away now.”

“Looks who’s talking,” your twin grumbled back, apparently with no qualms now that Daichi had returned to the back line, “Don’t get blown away, all gangly-looking like that.”

“Oi,” you growled, although they didn’t seem to pay you much mind, with Tanaka now yelling at them from behind.

“Here it comes!”

The two next to you snapped back to attention just as Iwaizumi jumped, and you all managed to block the rival ace, scoring when the ball ricocheted off of the boys’ palms.

True to form, they then started arguing over which of them had actually blocked the ball.

You moved between them and grabbed an earlobe of theirs in each of your hands, pulling them down slightly to your level, squeezing hard and watching them squirm.

“Now now children,” you said, deathly quiet, giving each of them a hard stare, “How about we get along, hmmm?”

With that you let them go, only for them to get shouted at by Daichi, who’d apparently lost his patience. That made Hinata chortle from the back, and Tobio went after him next, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

Iwaizumi’s raspy voice took you by surprise again, closer than before.

“Your team is interesting, Tomiyo,” he stated. One of his big hands clasped the netting between you.

You snorted and grinned, your hands coming to rest on your hips, “Well, there’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure.”

There was a moment of quiet as you both watched Daichi scold your brother again.

“You gonna keep ignoring Kunimi and Kindaichi?”

You scowled and crossed your arms, “I have nothing to say to them.”

He exhaled through his nose and removed his hand, returning to his place for the next rally, and you did too, trying to quell the small bubble of disappointment that arose in your chest.

Shortly thereafter, with a very fitting point from Hinata and Tobio’s quick, your team took the set.

You sighed, the anxiety from losing the first now ebbing away, and followed your teammates off court to take a short break.

“Onto winning the last set!” Tanaka hollered, definitely in good spirits with the roll he was on.

Ennoshita approached, handing you, Tobio and Daichi each a bottle of fresh water. It was cool to the touch and you had to fight the urge to just down the whole thing in one go.

“I’m relieved Seijoh doesn’t have a serve-hitter like Kageyama,” the second year said, smiling as he watched Tanaka and Shōyō perform some sort of victory dance.

The captain hummed in agreement, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Definitely, we’re still pretty weak in terms of receiving for now,” he said, “We would’ve had a much harder time.”

Tobio frowned beside you.

“Still,” he replied, “We need to be careful.”

All three of you turned to look at him.

“I don’t think this setter is their main one,” he explained.

Your eyes widened as you started to understand what your brother was saying.

You both knew _for a fact_ , that Oikawa had come to Aoba Johsai. For him to _not_ be on the team, being as talented as he was as well as a third year, would be very, very strange.

So… where _was_ he?

Maybe he was ill? Or injured?

Unpleasant images of big, teary eyes clouded your mind. The memory of holding his leg still as you waited for an ambulance. The tangible panic as you smoothed sweaty curls from his pale face.

Fuck, that had been so, so long ago. Maybe you should have asked Iwaizumi.

A loud cacophony of squeals and shrieks ripped you from your musings and you flinched, scowling up at the groups of girls watching from the balcony responsible for the raucous noise.

Although it didn’t take you long to see what had been the cause of their apparent extreme enthusiasm, and it certainly wasn’t the rousing game of high school volleyball.

Nope.

Tobio’s hand moved quickly to grip yours, and you squeezed.

_I’m here._

And so was Oikawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomiyo you need some water? Cause baby, you lookin’ kinda thirsty.
> 
> Honestly though, I’m vegetarian but goddamn I also want some of that Iwaizumi beefcake.
> 
> Okay enough of that. So this chapter took forever. Life is hectic, school is starting up again for the new year, but I’m going to start dedicating blocks of time to writing to try keep uploading with some semblance of regularity. Anywhooooo...
> 
> So I took my own experience with a knee dislocation here. It happened back in 2018, cause I was stupid and that can be dangerous when you also have hyper-mobile joints, and I had to wait for over an hour for an ambulance. For those of you who haven’t dealt with it before, it sucks. You’re in shock for like five minutes and your leg feels fine (I legit called my mother and calmly explained what had happened to me) but then it wears off and shit hurts like a motherfucker. Without a doubt the most painful thing I’d ever gone through, and I have extremely high tolerance. I needed an obscene amount of morphine just to get me onto a stretcher without screaming. Recovery took forever for me and it’s still a bit wonky sometimes.
> 
> It isn’t explicitly stated what exact injury Oikawa had, but considering his knee brace is very similar to mine, I thought it was along those lines.
> 
> Don’t dislocate your knees kids.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for all the comments, kudos and subs. It really keeps me going.  
> And of course, thank you for reading.
> 
> Be good and stay safe sweetpeas XXX


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